Asylum pals inspire others to succeed..
Brave teens tell RTE documentary of ‘tough’ journeys to top careers
what it is like to live as asylum seekers in Ireland and what it is like “being Irish” when your parents come from a different country.
Minahil, who left Pakistan when she was just five years old, is now studying medicine in Galway.
She said she is on the “tough” road to fulfilling her ambition of becoming a doctor after getting the marks she needed in her Leaving Cert.
The student explained her family had no choice but to leave her home country when she was just a little girl.
And she told how despite it being tough in Direct Provision, she would not change a thing.
Minahil admitted: “Life was scary, I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t have anyone to talk to in my language – I didn’t speak English.”
And speaking of entering medicine as a career, she added: “It’s very tough, there’s a lot to learn but it’s definitely worth it.
“It has always been my dream to be a doctor and it is definitely living up to my expectations.
“The kind of medicine I am studying is of the lower limbs, your legs and feet.
“For a girl in my country, education is the best thing for you because you get to be independent and you have yourself to rely on. I don’t want to be the girl who has to rely on a man.
“I’m not fully Irish and I haven’t always been accepted as fully Irish. Sometimes people are starring at me weird because I’m wearing a scarf and they have their stereotypes in their heads.
“I just want to inspire others who are in a similar circumstance and show them that you can fulfil your dreams.
“We want to show that no matter what you go through, if you work hard enough anything can be achieved.”
Meanwhile, Natasha, who is studying to be a lawyer at DCU, said her family had no choice but to flee Zimbabwe.
She added: “I didn’t leave my home because I wanted to, I left my home because I needed to.
“My mother has always been huge in making sure girls have education and women are able to make decisions in our country.
“Because my mother stood up for women and the voices of women, she was a huge target for the government.”
Leaving Limbo hits our screens on New Year’s Day on RTE One at 6.30pm.
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